Staff at Circle B Bar Reserve Work to Temper Guests' Behavior

If you've noticed more educational signs, information tables staffed by volunteers and even the occasional presence of a state wildlife officer at Circle B Bar Reserve recently, it's no accident.

By TOM PALMERTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | If you've noticed more educational signs, information tables staffed by volunteers and even the occasional presence of a state wildlife officer at Circle B Bar Reserve recently, it's no accident.The crush of thousands of visitors, some of whom think they can behave at the 1,267-acre Polk County Environmental Lands nature preserve the way they would at a downtown city park, is pushing county staffers to step up educational efforts."We're trying to teach people that this is a natural area, not a zoo," said Tabitha Biehl, Polk County's environmental lands stewardship coordinator."Our goal is to educate people,'' she said.The situation is not unique to Circle B.Visitor management and education are part of the ongoing effort at public and private conservation areas everywhere in Florida.Managers say the challenge is that while they want residents, whose taxes paid for the purchase and management of many of these areas, to come and learn about wildlife and native habitats, dealing with problem visitors diverts resources and staff time from environmental management projects. Jennifer Diaz, spokeswoman for the Florida Park Service in Tallahassee, said state park staff "educate and engage" visitors by helping them to understand each park's important natural resources and why places like shorebird nesting and resting areas and rare ecological communities require special protection from visitor intrusion."This is something our rangers love to do,'' Diaz said.Circle B staff and volunteers offer regular tram tours to give the public a chance to learn more about the preserve's wildlife and ecology. The tours fill up quickly.Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regional office in Lakeland, said the problem is that even when information is posted, people sometimes ignore it.At Tenoroc Fish Management Area in Lakeland, Morse said people drive in even on days when the site is closed to the public and sometimes don't try to leave until after the gates are locked."People management is part of the deal because the land belongs to everybody, but the rules apply to everyone, too," Morse said.Tricia Martin, who oversees The Nature Conservancy's private preserves at Tiger Creek and Disney Wilderness Preserve, agrees."It takes time and effort to manage for visitors," she said, explaining that sometimes visitors cause problems for themselves by wandering off marked trails.She recalled an incident when a visitor at Tiger Creek somehow became lost, called 911 and a Polk County Sheriff's Office helicopter had to be dispatched to search for him.In addition, some land managers also have to occasionally deal with trespassers ranging from poachers to crews illegally harvesting palmetto berries. But at Circle B the main issues appear to be people-wildlife interactions or behavior that interferes with other visitors' enjoyment of the preserve.Biehl said there have been isolated incidents involving wildlife that were spread on social media that caused some concern.They ranged from posting a video of someone who went past barriers around an alligator nest to someone who posted a photo of a sandhill crane chick sitting in her lap.There have been scattered complaints at Circle B and elsewhere about overaggressive wildlife photographers.Reinier Munguia, president of Lake Region Audubon Society and a professional wildlife photographer and tour guide, said part of the problem may be how Circle B and other preserves are marketed to the public."They've marketed this place as a park rather than as a preserve," he said.Munguia said he recently observed someone at Circle B who had set up drums and a guitar and was playing loud music along one of the trails. There was another incident where a parent didn't intervene when his children were throwing rocks at an alligator.He said it's difficult for visitors to confront inappropriate behavior because they have no authority and sometimes it happens after normal business hours when there's no staff on site.Munguia said the problems aren't confined to Circle B.He said there has been everything from paintball to graffiti at Lakeland Highlands Scrub, another county preserve south of Lakeland.Vandalism and off-road vehicle use have been sporadic problems elsewhere. Biehl said she prefers that visitors let staff members deal with these issues, explaining phone numbers are posted on the signs."One of our challenges is that we don't have a Facebook site, so it's hard to communicate,'' she said, adding some of the posts contain "a lot of misinformation." Litter is another problem, Biehl said, explaining volunteers comb the trails and the marshes adjacent to them regularly to collect debris ranging from discarded water bottles to disposable diapers.She said there also was a problem with people coming to Circle B to stage family photographs, complete with furniture and pets.Pets aren't allowed at Circle B and setting up that kind of display on the grounds is inconsistent with the preserve's purpose, she said. Although education is the preferred approach, Polk County has a parks ordinance to deal with flagrant violations as well as state and federal laws that protect wildlife, Biehl said.

[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read more views on the environment at http://environment.blogs.theledger.com and more views on county government at http://county.blogs.theledger.com/. Follow on Twitter @LedgerTom. ]